Many applications demand pressurization systems that provide pressurized liquid in the event of a power outage. As one example, buildings are provided with fire sprinkler systems that provide pressurized liquids on-demand, for instance, in the event of a fire.
The water to be supplied to a fire sprinkler system is provided from a source of pressurized water. In some buildings, the municipal water supply can provide a sufficient amount of water pressure to operate a fire sprinkler system. In other buildings, the municipal water supply may not provide sufficient water pressure, or the water supply may be provided from a tank or a well, so the water must be pumped to provide sufficient water pressure.
In buildings having a low-pressure municipal water supply, a tank supply, or a well water supply, conventional fire sprinkler systems can use electric pumps to either increase the pressure of the water supply and/or to deliver water from a well to the sprinkler system. However, in such conventional electric pump systems, if the source of electricity is interrupted, the pump will no longer function. Under these circumstances, in the event of a fire, the pump will be unable to supply water with adequate pressure to the fire sprinkler system. Therefore, the operation of a fire sprinkler system that depends entirely on electricity can be affected when the fires causes a power outage or occurs during a power outage.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus for providing a pressurized liquid in the absence of electricity.